


Catch

by kathkin



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 16:30:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10666506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathkin/pseuds/kathkin
Summary: Trapped in the middle of an outer space battle, the Doctor has to spacewalk to the TARDIS. Jamie won't be left behind.





	Catch

“Well!” The Doctor clapped his hands together, speaking in a faux-bright tone Jamie was coming to realise he saved for the direst of circumstances. “There’s only one thing for it.”

“And what’s that, then?” said Ben.

There was a distant rumble and the corridor shook. Not like a ship swaying so much as like the earth itself shivering underfoot. Jamie gritted his teeth and braced a hand against the wall.

“I shall have to go back to the TARDIS,” said the Doctor.

“But Doctor, you can’t!” said Polly. “The TARDIS –”

“I know, Polly, I know,” said the Doctor. “I shall just have to spacewalk.”

“In _this_?” The station’s vice-commander waved a hand at the wall, indicating the bombardment. “Absolutely not. It’s far too dangerous. I forbid it.”

“Well, it’s a jolly good thing I’m not under your command, isn’t it?” said the Doctor. “Besides, the, ah, wrecked sections aren’t under bombardment any more – I should be, ah, safe. Relatively speaking. Wish me luck!” He gave the vice-commander a cheery wave, and tore off down the corridor.

Jamie hung back a moment, then, letting his feet carry him, followed the Doctor.

He followed the Doctor all through the station, through doors that hissed open, from hexagonal segment till hexagonal segment, till at last they reached the edge, or what had become the edge. The Doctor hadn’t noticed Jamie behind him. He was muttering to himself, patting down his coat as if he might have something in his pocket that could help.

“No, ah, functioning airlock,” he mumbled. “I’ll have to – hm, yes. Pressurise the compartment. Now, where’s –” He hauled open a cupboard in the wall, revealed a line of bulky suits that looked unnervingly like hanged men.

“Are those for going outside?” said Jamie.

The Doctor whirled around, clapping a hand to his chest in shock. “Jamie!” he cried. “What on earth – what are you doing here?”

Jamie shrugged. “Followed you.”

“What?” The Doctor’s caterpillary eyebrows shot up. “Why?”

“I thought you might need some help.”

“Out of the question.” The Doctor shook his head. “My goodness, no. Go back and join the others.” He unhooked a suit from the rack, staggering at the weight.

“It’s dangerous, then?” said Jamie.

“Of course it’s dangerous.” The Doctor wrestled with the catch on his suit. “Blasted thing.”

“Then I’m going with you.” Decisively, Jamie unhooked a suit of his own.

“Oh, no you don’t!” The Doctor dropped his suit on the floor with a clatter and grabbed Jamie’s helmet. “Jamie. Put that back at once.”

“The hell I will!” said Jamie. “Och, look, if it’s that dangerous –”

“Jamie, now really, I don’t have time for –”

“– then you shouldn’t be doing it alone.”

“I’ll be perfectly fine!” snapped the Doctor. He gave up wrenching on Jamie’s helmet and gave him a hard look. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“Don’t talk daft,” said Jamie, because when did the Doctor _ever_ know what he was doing? “Just – tell me this. Would it be safer with two?”

“Well – well, yes,” stammered the Doctor. “I suppose it _would_ , but –”

“Then stop wasting time and show me how to put this thing on,” said Jamie, nodding at the spacesuit.

“Now, now Jamie, I don’t think you know what you’re getting into,” said the Doctor.

“When do I ever?”

“I –” The Doctor sighed, his face crumpling into a look of defeat. “Are you absolutely sure you can handle this?”

Jamie shrugged. “I’ve handled everything so far, haven’t I?”

“Yes, I suppose you have.” The Doctor released Jamie’s space suit. “Alright. Alright! But you do _precisely_ as I tell you, understood?”

“I understand,” said Jamie.

“ _Precisely_ ,” the Doctor re-iterated, wagging an instructing finger at him. “One wrong move out there, and you’ll be dead. Most unpleasantly and _very_ slowly dead. Do you understand?”

“Aye,” said Jamie. “I understand.”

“Alright,” said the Doctor with a weary sigh. “Let’s get you suited up.”

Long, hastening minutes later Jamie stood before the door, feeling bulky and heavy. There was a soft crackle in his ear, and the Doctor’s voice, sounding far away. “Jamie? Can you hear me?”

“Aye,” said Jamie. There were buttons on the belt of his suit, clicky buttons. One of them made it so the Doctor could talk to him. Another was holding him to the floor.

“Remember what I said,” said the Doctor. “Big round button, to de-activate your electromagnets. Soon as I give the word. Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’m gonnae get.” He was starting to feel it now, the apprehension, the fear of the unknown. He’d been so caught up in the adrenaline, in his desperation to stay by the Doctor’s side, he hadn’t let himself think about what he was about to do. The Doctor had described what was going to happen, best he could, but Jamie couldn’t imagine it.

“Here we go,” said the Doctor, and pressed down firmly on the _open_ button.

There was a _hissss_ and before the door was even open there was a change, a sensation like rushing wind so powerful that it tugged at Jamie despite the magic in is suit. He gritted his teeth and tried to stand firm. He was safe. The Doctor had promised.

The door slid back. Behind it was a rectangle of utter darkness, a bottomless chasm mere inches from their toes.

“Jamie, the lamp,” said the Doctor.

“Oh, aye.” It was attached to his belt, on a line that unspooled. He pressed the button to switch it on.

There it was, stretched out before them. The empty, blackened framework of the compartments hit by the first wave of fire. Most of it, the Doctor said, had been blown away into space. All that remained was a skeleton of metal, dangling from the station like a broken and useless limb. Somewhere out there was the TARDIS, assuming it hadn’t floated away into space. The Doctor was sure it was nearby, and Jamie trusted his judgement. The Doctor and the TARDIS were linked, somehow. If the TARDIS had flown off into that darkness, the Doctor would have felt it go.

“You’re sure I can’t talk you out of this?” said the Doctor.

“Get on with it,” said Jamie. He couldn’t hear that kind of talk, not as it stared into that emptiness, his insides a bed of snakes at the thought of stepping into it.

“Ah, well,” said the Doctor. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now.” From his belt he unhooked a curious device, a clamp affixed to a spooled length of cable. He aimed it, silently, carefully – and released.

The cable shot out into the darkness, a perfectly straight line, impacting neatly upon the metal strut, not making a sound. The Doctor raised the other end and, very very carefully, clamped it to the doorway. “Get a good firm grip, before you demagnetise,” he reminded Jamie.

“I will,” Jamie promised him. He could hear the Doctor breathing, in his ear, and somehow hearing his deep breaths as he prepared to climb out there was soothing. Knowing he wasn’t the only one scared, that comforted him.

The Doctor gripped the cable and pressed the big round button on his belt. He lifted smoothly off the floor, nothing to support him, nothing but the cable. And off he went, one hand at a time, slowly working his way along the line.

“Here goes,” Jamie muttered to himself. He said a silent prayer, and grasped the cable.

He’d experienced low gravity before, but that wasn’t enough to prepare him for true weightlessness. One touch of the button on his belt and he was floating, his feet leaving the ground, his grip on the cable his own link with anything substantial, anything real. He yelped in alarm, grabbing for the cable with his other hand.

“Aye, I’m fine,” Jamie called back, then remembered he didn’t need to raise his voice. He relaxed his grip and shifted his hand further down the cable. That was a start. He moved his other hand, dragging his body out of the doorway, out into open space. He looked down.

He shouldn’t have looked down. His feet were dangling over – he could only perceive it as a bottomless pit, but it wasn’t like that at all. The drop was in all directions, darkness that he would fall into forever if he let go. His hands had begun to sweat. He was glad of his gloves, with their rough, grippy surface.

“Jamie.” The Doctor’s voice was in his ear. Jamie tore his gaze away from the expanse around him and saw that the Doctor was almost at the other end of the cable. “Either hurry up or go back inside.

“I’m coming.” He steeled himself and let go with his left out. Stretch out, as far as he dared, grasp the cable, pull his body along. It wasn’t difficult. It would have been a strain, under normal circumstances, but he weighed nothing, as if he were a feather. He tried to focus on that, the ease of it, the rhythm.

A gloved hand touched his shoulder. The Doctor reaching out to guide him to the relative safety of the next chamber. He gripped the Doctor’s hand and pulled himself the last few feet. There he wrapped his arms around the strut and clung on.

“Och,” he said.

From his new vantage point, he could see back the way they’d come. The doorway, a rectangle of bright white light. The station, a flat plain of hexagons stretching out into the distance. The attack ship. The streams of fire it unleashed, burning and burning into the station. There’d been so much noise when the bombardment had started. Outside there was nothing. Fire, cold, silent, and impersonal, a spark against the vastness.

“Don’t think about that.” The Doctor pressed a button on the clamp. The cable released its grip and rushed towards them. “We have a job to do.”

“Aye,” said Jamie numbly. “The TARDIS. How far is it?”

“I’d say about, ah, six chambers,” said the Doctor.

“So we have to do that six more times?” It wasn’t far, he reminded himself. It wasn’t far at all. He rested his helmet against the bare strut, closed his eyes.

“Are you alright?” said the Doctor.

“I’m fine.” Jamie raised his head. “Why wouldn’t I be?” He prayed the Doctor’s couldn’t hear his teeth chattering.

If he could hear, he was polite enough not t comment. “Hold this steady,” he said, motioning at the clamp. Jamie nodded, not daring to speak. With deepest reluctance, he took one hand away from the strut.

The cable fired, a silent and oddly sluggish motion. Jamie watched it sail out, heart in his mouth till it connected with the next strut. The Doctor gave it a tug, testing the seal, and his head bobbed. He let go of the strut and floated on the end of the cable as he secured it. “Off we go!” he said cheerily.

Off they went, deeper and deeper. It felt to Jamie unnervingly as if they were exploring the remains of some giant animal, something that had been burned and eaten. When he dared to look back, he saw the doorway, the one bright, substantial spot, receding into the distance, till it was blocked by the metal beams, out of sight.

They’d gone three lengths of the cable and he was starting, just starting, to get used to it, when things began to go wrong. Clinging to a beam, waiting while the Doctor checked the clamp, Jamie felt the station shake.

It was only for a moment. A brief rumble, a faint sound reaching his ears through the metal. “What was that?”

“Ah. Nothing to worry about, I’m sure.” But through his tinted visor Jamie saw the Doctor’s eyes flicking back towards the station. His tongue darted out, wetting his lips. He was thinking very hard, and very carefully.

Jamie looked over his shoulder. He saw fire. The pulsing torrent of fire that surged from the attack ship, moving steadily in their direction. With each strike, the metal beneath his hands shook harder.

He swore. “Language,” admonished the Doctor, still looking over the clamp.

“They’ve seen us,” Jamie said, already resigned. This was it. The jaws of death were closing around them. He’d hoped he wouldn’t die out there, like this, defenceless with nothing substantial around him, but he’d known the risk he was taken. He’d taken it willingly, for the Doctor.

“I doubt it,” said the Doctor. “We’re very small. No, they’re probably shooting at the after engine.” Content with the cable, he swung himself out into the void.

“What if they shoot it to bits?” 

“Then there’s a chance this wreck will break off from the station,” said the Doctor. “And then we’ll really be in trouble – but I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“Because it’s no’ very likely?” said Jamie.

“No, because there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it,” said the Doctor. “Focus on the task at hand, eh?” He swung himself further out, further away.

There was another jolt, harder this time. The cable thrummed. Jamie allowed himself a moment to think. He resolved, and letting go of the beam, he wrapped a hand around the cable.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of red-orange and the whole wreck shook. Another blow and it heaved and buckled, lurching to the side. Jamie tightened his grip, his breath coming in short pants. He could hear the Doctor crying out but there was nothing they could do, nothing but hold on with all their might.

It was still. “Alright,” the Doctor said softly. “Alright. No harm done.” He edged further down the cable.

The attack ship fired again.

The shot must have been close because Jamie heard it, a faint shriek transmitted through the metal, through his gloves to his ears. The station was shaking, jerking. To his horror he saw its joints coming apart, metal beams and struts slipping out of place. On the other side of the compartment the beam they’d fixed the cable to broke off altogether and it was gone, flying into space. The cable in his hand went very taut.

Then with a sudden jerk, it broke, snapping, fraying like wool, the broken end flailing wildly, the Doctor clinging onto the end one-handedly. “Oh no!” he was saying. “Oh, oh no!” He made a grab for the cable with his free hand but just them another shot came. The compartment lurched forward, almost throwing Jamie off, he had to wrap his arms around the beam to stay in place – 

The Doctor lost his grip. The frayed end of the cable slipped out of his clenched fist and just like that he was falling, falling not downwards but outwards, out into that endless darkness. He let out a wordless cry, flailing vainly for the cable, already out of reach.

“ _Doctor_!” He had perhaps a second to think, before it’d be too late. He saw the Doctor, falling, his eyes wide behind his visor. He saw the metal struts of the compartment, the outermost one poking out into the void at an angle. He reacted.

Not thinking about what he was about to do, not even praying, he pressed his booted feet against the metal, let go of the door frame, and kicked with all his might. For a long, stomach-turning moment he was falling, touching nothing, feeling nothing, no sense of up or down, just the darkness and the silence and his own heartbeat hammering in his ears.

He caught the strut in his left hand and held on tight. His glove slipped and for a split second he thought he might lose his grip, but he had it. With his right he reached out, stretching as far as he could, brushing the Doctor’s reaching fingers, grabbing at his hand –

Their hands connected. He held the Doctor’s hand tighter than he’d ever held anything in his life. Relief flooded him with such intensity that he all but forgot where he was.

“Oh, my,” the Doctor was saying, gasping for breath. “Oh my word.”

“I’ve got you,” Jamie said. “It’s alright. I’ve got you.”

“Jamie,” said the Doctor faintly. “Oh, oh my –” Slowly, he swung himself about, reaching for Jamie with his free hand, gripping his arm. He eased himself closed, closer, till he could hang onto the strut. Jamie’s arm slipped around his waist, securing him, not wanting to let go.

“I’ve got you,” he said again.

The Doctor blew out a long breath. “That was close,” he said.

“Aye,” said Jamie. “Are they moving off?” He didn’t dare turn his head, not when their safety was so precarious.

“Ye-es,” said the Doctor. “Yes, I think so. The aft engines must be gone. I – I think we’re safe, for the timing being.”

“Thank God for that,” said Jamie.

“Yes,” the Doctor agreed. “Well, then.” Clearing his throat, he turned to look at Jamie properly. “What were you thinking, doing that? Do you have any idea how – how _dangerous_ that was?”

“It worked, didn’t it?” said Jamie, shooting him a grin.

“You could have sent us _both_ flying into space!”

“But I didn’t.” Something was bubbling up in his chest and for a moment he thought he was going to cry – but instead he began to laugh.

“Stop that at once!” said the Doctor. “This is serious.”

“Aye,” said Jamie. “So it is.” There they were, suspended in space, no way back to the station, no way forward to the TARDIS, and there the Doctor was, scolding him. And they were _alive_. It beggared belief.

“Oh, really,” said the Doctor, laughing in spite of himself. “You – you brilliant idiot, you. What possessed you to do that?”

“I wasnae gonnae let you fall, was I?” Jamie tilted his head forward, his laughter fading. Their visors touched with a soft clink.

“Oh, Jamie,” said the Doctor. “Never change.

They hung there in silence, their breaths the only sound. This close Jamie could see the Doctor breathing, see the patch of fog growing and shrinking on the inside of his visor.

“Doctor?” he said.

“Hmm?”

“How are we gonnae get to the TARDIS?”

“With difficulty,” said the Doctor. With a great sigh, he slipped from Jamie’s grip, shifting himself around the strut. “We’ll just have to be very careful.” Reaching up, very slowly, he moved his hands from the strut to the adjoining beam.

“You sure about this?” said Jamie.

“It’s that or stay put till we run out of air,” said the Doctor.

“Run out?” A chill ran down Jamie’s spine. The Doctor had explained how the suits worked, but he hadn’t mentioned anything about running out of air to breathe. “How long will that take?”

“About six hours?” said the Doctor. “Miserable way to die. Wouldn’t recommend it. Now. Do as I do.”

They made their way through the skeleton of the station, their progress painfully slow without the line to hang onto. It wasn’t so difficult. The compartments weren’t so big and there were plenty of hand-holds and food-holds. Jamie could have managed it even in gravity. In this strange environment it was almost effortless, as long as he didn’t think about what would happen if he slipped.

Then at last there was the TARDIS, beautifully solid and blue. Jamie’s spirits lifted at the sight of it – but it was farther away than they’d expected, its compartment all but torn from the station by the bombardment. It was hanging on by a single length of metal, the TARDIS itself lying at an angle, lodged between two struts.

“Good thing I forgot to set the HADS, eh?” said the Doctor.

“Eh?” said Jamie.

“The – oh, never mind,” said the Doctor. “Hmm. Looks a bit tricky.”

“Can we get to it?” said Jamie.

“Hmm. I think we’ll have to jump for it,” said the Doctor.

“Jump for it?” said Jamie. “Are you sure?” He looked at the TARDIS, at the short but deadly expanse between them and it. Without the focus and clarity the immediate danger had brought him, jumping it seemed that much more daunting.

“Not even remotely,” said the Doctor. “Hold on tight,” he said, and jumped for it.

Jamie watched him go, his heart in his mouth. He went so slowly, drifting through the emptiness like a bubble. He extended an arm – and Jamie felt the metal beneath his hand quiver as the Doctor impacted.

They got as close as they could, but even then the door was out of reach, no matter how much they vainly groped for it. Jamie held tight onto the strut with one hand and held the Doctor’s hand with the other, watching anxiously as the Doctor stretched out his arm, moving steadily further and further away. In his outstretched hand he held the key and he prodded at the lock, clumsy, trying to find the opening.

“Almost have it,” he said. “Almost – aha! Got it!”

The door opened and light washed over Jamie’s face, leaving him blinking. Then the Doctor was squeezing his hand, tugging him away from the strut, into their safe haven.

His feet touched the floor and he had a dizzy moment as the room turned around him, somehow righting itself despite the tilted exterior. He felt absurdly heavy, as if his boots were filled with lead.

He staggered, trying to catch his breath, the sudden gravity winding him. The doors stood open behind them, open to the void, but the Doctor unlocked and pulled back his visor, so Jamie assumed he was safe to do likewise.

Breathing easier, he paced back to the door, the Doctor clomping around the console behind him. He’d learned enough of space, those past few weeks, to know it was uncanny, having no barrier between himself and that emptiness. He reached out a hand towards the boundary, and thought better of it. He could understand the special doors on the station – air locks, the Doctor had called them. They sealed up tight against the void, holding in the air. He didn’t know the science behind it, but the mechanics were simple enough. This was something else. He could only conclude that it was magic.

“Close the doors, would you Jamie?” called the Doctor.

“Aye,” said Jamie, and breathless he turned away. With a gloved finger, he pressed a switch on the console. The doors hummed closed. “Have ye got what we came for?”

“Just a moment,” said the Doctor, rooting around in his chest. “I’m sure I have a spare in here somewhere – ooh! My old tricorn!” He popped the hat onto his head. “I thought I lost that. Now, let’s see.” He tossed oddments onto the floor. Jamie crouched beside him, trying to pile them up into some kind of order. A broken jack-in-the-box, a slingshot, balled up socks. “Ah, I was going to read that,” said the Doctor, bringing out a book. He made to tuck it into his coat pocket and glared down at his pocketless spacesuit.

“No rush, eh?” said Jamie. He meant it, too. The longer they could put off leaving the TARDIS the better.

“Don’t hurry me,” said the Doctor. “I’ll find it in a moment – I really ought to tidy this old chest – aha!” Triumphant, he brought out a flat metal thing covered in knobs and divots.

“Is that it?” said Jamie.

“One forcefield generator control circuit.” The Doctor turned it over in his hands. “Ye-es. With a little repurposing, we ought to be able to get the shields up and running again. Hmm. Be a dear and take a look at the scanner, would you?”

“Aye,” said Jamie. Rising, he stomped over to the scanner. They had a good view over the station. There was the attack ship, still spewing its red fire. He swallowed. What if Ben and Polly – he couldn’t think about that. He had himself to worry about, himself and the Doctor.

“How does it look?” said the Doctor.

“No’ good,” said Jamie.

“They haven’t got tired of shooting at us yet, eh?” said the Doctor.

“They’re gonnae shoot us to bits,” Jamie said grimly.

“Then we’d best get the shields up and running.” The Doctor popped up beside Jamie, the metal thing attached securely to his belt. “Hadn’t we?” He shot Jamie a grin.

“Do we really have to go back out there?” Jamie nodded at the scanner. The thought of another journey through that sucking emptiness tied his insides in knots.

“Yes,” said the Doctor. “Though, ah, you’re, you’re welcome to stay here, where it’s safe.”

“Och, no,” said Jamie. “I’m stickin’ with you.”

“Good lad.” The Doctor clapped him on the shoulder. “Visor up, now. Best be off.”

Jamie tugged down his visor. Behind him, the doors hummed open. He steeled his nerves, and went to the door, to the edge of the abyss.

“Ready?” said the Doctor.”

“As ready as I’m gonnae get,” said Jamie.

“Good.” The Doctor took his hand, squeezing. Jamie squeezed back, shot him a grim smile. “Now, on the count of three, we jump for it. One – two – _three_.”

Together, hand in hand, they jumped.


End file.
